20 Years
by Dancingvictoria
Summary: Max finds a note inside the boys' old drawer 20 years later. What is it?
1. Chapter 1

Twenty years. That's how long it's been. Iggy has gone off and married my step sister, Ella. As far as I know, they're expecting a non-winged mutant, eh-hem, _Gen 77, _baby. Ella's ecstatic, as always. She's expecting sometime in this month, April. Iggy's called me multiple times for advice. I couldn't help but laugh. The flock has split up now. Little Nudge is now a super model for Vogue. Every once in a while I see her on the cover of a magazine and I can't resist buying it. Nudge calls up from time to time. She's busy all the time, what with her job and stuff. Traveling around the world can be exhausting. Trust me, I know. Total and Akilah have about 300 pups. They're breeding like crazy, but hey. When you're cute, why waste your talent? Total is still obnoxious, like always, and Akilah still can't talk or fly. The gasman has joined the US Navy, surprisingly. I thought that he and Iggy would make some shop together that consisted of bombs, explosives, and more bombs. As far as I know, Ol' Gazzy is in charge of the Army. Why? Because the government is insane and Gazzy has an obsession with bombs. And me? Well I, Maximum Ride, am a foster parent. Dylan and I— don't worry; no romance here. We're just friends—work together now and have opened an orphanage for 'Gen 77' children, AKA freaks like us. See, Dylan, Gazzy, Iggy, Nudge and I, well…We're 98% human and have a smidgeon of avian DNA in us. We have wings. We can fly. It used to be that we were freaks—mutants. Cameras used to follow us constantly, and we used to have to always be on guard. I was the leader of the flock. There used to be six of us, but uh, let's not talk about our lovely little flock now.

So, I was rummaging through my old drawers one day and came across something that struck a foreign memory. But from what? I had no idea. See, Dylan and I, well, our orphanage is where we used to live in Colorado. Of course, it's renovated and has 4 floors now. I just never brought myself to clean out the old boys' rooms when they moved out. Motherly instincts never go away, I guess. Heck, even after 20 years, it still smelled like rotten eggs. Gross. I was cleaning the boys' room because Dylan finally convinced me that we needed to use the boys' room for the new kids coming in the next day. The drawers were supposed to be empty…I could've sworn I made the boys clean their room when they left. Huh. Weird. It was in the first drawer, hidden underneath dark clothes and other stuff.

_I'll just give these to the kids_, I thought. The kids need clothes all the time. They can't possibly stay in filthy and worn clothes like I had when I was a kid.

I laid the clothes in the hamper beside me. I looked inside the drawer, taking out the socks and pants and also laying them in the hamper. Now, it was empty except for the moth balls and a paper.

_Heh? _

I swept aside the moth balls and pulled out the paper. It was old and fragile, I can tell you that. It must've been a couple years old. I had no idea how it got in there, or _why._

I unfolded it and read the words with difficulty. For some reason, the words were smudged.

_Dear Max—_

_You looked so beautiful today. I'm going to remember what you looked like forever._

Oh my god… A ball of cotton caught in my throat. I haven't seen or heard from Fang in years. I didn't know what he was up to. I didn't…I don't even know him anymore. But I did know that I still loved him. That's the reason why Dylan and I…well, we're not into each other. We can't. I would always compare him to Fang. That was always the case. I mean, yeah. Dylan's nice and all, but I can't see myself going out with him. Or, ugh. Marrying him. I gulped, and forced myself to keep reading, feeling an overwhelming sense of déjà vu.

_Tell you what, sweetie: If in twenty years, we haven't expired yet, _I laughed. I know, but I couldn't help it. I learned a while ago that we wouldn't expire from my old friend, the Voice. It and I are on good terms now. I don't bother it, and it doesn't bother me. There's no danger now, I saved the world. I don't need it anymore. In fact, I think it's kind of funny. My Voice has a sense of humor. Hah, bet you wouldn't believe that. I forced myself to stop laughing and read on, _and the world is still in one piece, more or less, I'll meet you at the top of that cliff where we first met the hawks and learned to fly with them. You know the one. Twenty years from today, if I'm alive, I'll be there, waiting for you. You can bet on it._

I looked at the date...April 9th. _Today. _Oh crap, is he there? Could he? Oh, no. I doubted it. Twenty years is a long time. He probably doesn't even remember me, right? RIGHT? Oh, what am I kidding? He _must _remember me. I mean…he had to. He…he just had to.

A flash of the cliff went through my mind. I knew where it was and I knew how to get there. I used to go there often when the flock split up, waiting; watching; learning. I learned more handy tricks with the time I spent there. The hawks thought I was fascinating… if only they knew that that was what I was thinking about them.

I leaped from my bed with amazing grace and flew to the window and out expertly to the cliff! Just kidding. I fell flat on my face with excitement while running to the window. Yes, I know, Max. I lost the touch.

_Up and away, _my Voice said. I rolled my eyes and ignored it. I was going to see Fang, right? That's all I cared about now.

Gosh, I sound like a teenager again.

* * *

><p><em>To be continued...<em>


	2. Chapter 2

o.0

_Fang_

He had been watching and waiting for a while. Sometimes he wondered if she would even come back. Did she think that he forgot her? Oh, he remembered her. He would never be able to forget her. Maya was like her, but at the same time…she just looked like her. Sometimes Maya was conceited…Max was never like that. Never. He hoped that she was still the same and hadn't changed _too _much. Change is inevitable in this world. Of course she changed. But by how much? He wondered if she was still mad at him after she found out about Maya. Would she hold it against him if she came? Ugh. It hurt his head to even think about it.

A hawk landed next to him and looked at him curiously with its' dark yellow eyes. He looked at it and whispered, "I hope she comes."

The hawk flew off, leaving him alone again. He sighed—loneliness was like an old friend. He'd been alone for twenty years. Nothing was going to change it. Okay, he admitted, maybe Max would.

He stretched his wings, letting the wind unravel his feathers. It felt so good…he wanted to just take off and never return. He couldn't do that, though. What if she came and he wasn't there? WHE-_if _she came, maybe they could go flying. Just like they used to without a care in the world. Just them…together. Maybe even forever.

Wait, that would be pushing it, wouldn't it?

Things used to be like that…and then he left the flock. What would've happened if he hadn't left?

Would he still be as lonely as he was now?

0.O

Have you ever run as fast as you could, with no reason at all, and felt the wind rip through your hair? It feels so exhilarating because you have no idea why you're doing it. You know that feeling? That's how flying felt, times about a billion. I flew as fast I could—I was probably going 200 miles per hour, hawk power. I knew where I was going. I knew that he was there…It was just that feeling.

It had been twenty years, and a rough twenty years at that. I was mad, heartbroken, confused, and lonely. I could be surrounded in a room full of people- People I know, I love…but I would still feel empty. I needed to patch things up with Fang. And today would be the day. There would be no sense in _trying _to patch things up later. It was already later. I had to do it now.

And I was.

I flew past the cliff…purely by accident, I can assure you. I guess. I blamed the nerves. I jerked back and took that pitiful fly back. I hated going past my destinations. Always have. Always will. It's like walking to your pitiful death.

I landed quietly inside the cave. It's so familiar and nostalgic that I have to keep from throwing up. I can't help but think of when Nudge, Fang and I were going to rescue Angel from the School. Hah, things were so easy back in the day. I ran out of the cave. I had to…too many memories.

There, sitting on the edge of the cliff, was a black blob sitting hunched over. I looked around me, decided nobody else was there, and walked towards him. He didn't turn around. Perfect—this was too easy. I smirked and crept behind him.

"HEY!" I said in my most perky, teenager voice and sat down next to him, dangling my legs off the edge. He jumped about five feet in the air and looked at me like I was some stranger.

Well, I was. Let's just pretend I wasn't, yeah?

Fang looked at me, his black eyes revealing nothing but pure happiness. He was a mess; his clothes were worn and ripped, he smelled…well, gross, and he was filthy. He looked like he hadn't showered in months, and he didn't care. Gees, what happened?

"Hi, I'm Max." I felt like re-introducing myself. I don't know why. "I'm thirty five years old. I'm the owner of an orphanage for mutants. Apparently, I saved the world when I was fifteen. I have a terrible hoarding problem—I just found a note from twenty years ago inside one of the boys' drawers. And…I'm sorry." There, twenty years' worth of confessions in twenty seconds.

Fang smiled crookedly, catching on. "Hi Max. I'm Fang. I'm thirty five also. I'm a homeless flying person that has survived the apocalypse. And I forgive you, because you wouldn't be sorry if I hadn't left." His black eyes showed pain, happiness, and maybe a little bit of hope.

This was easier than I thought it would be. "So about that note you wrote," I said, pulling out the yellowing paper from my pocket. "Forever sounds pretty nice, doesn't it?"

Fang smiled even bigger, showing his surprisingly white teeth. "I think that you're right, Maximum." He turned around and opened his arms. I let myself fall into his arms, because this was what I've been waiting for all those years ago. "I still love you," he whispered, and kissed my hair. I didn't struggle, I didn't do anything. I relaxed.

Only for a second though. I sat up and looked him in the eyes, "If you leave again, Fang…"

Get this, Fang smiled. Again. _Smiled. _"Why would I leave if there's no impending death on its' way?"

I shrugged, "Oh, right." I leaned back into his chest, "And whose fault is that?" I looked up at him and smirked.

"Yours, oh master." I laughed. We stayed like that for a while; talking. It was amazing.

Hey, twenty long years can maybe do you _some _good.

* * *

><p>J'ai finis!<p>

Thanks for all the reviews and story updates, and etc.

I finished this at like, 11 pm. I'm tired, and I'll probably end up re-editing this.

but I hope you liked this!

-Vikkii


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